


Miss Annie's Flowers

by theoreoqueen



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, Law Student Dan Howell, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 01:36:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12784110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoreoqueen/pseuds/theoreoqueen
Summary: Dan hates sunflowers, but he really likes the cute guy at the flower shop.





	Miss Annie's Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> do you ever take a break working on a long ass fic to write a lil idea down and then it turns into a full length story? that's what happened here and i think that's beautiful. enjoy! <3

Ninety-eight percent of his flat sucked. However, he already discovered what made up the two percent of non-suckiness:

  1. The cheap rent.
  2. The guy across the street wearing a green apron and sweeping the front of a shop.



Dan stared a moment longer out his bedroom window, fingers lingering on the edges of his curtain. He was on the second floor, above a bakery, and renting the extra room during his internship. This street was full of quirky shops. The guy in the green apron was cute. He placed his feet oddly as he swept, but it was endearing enough to keep watching. Judging by the apron, it seemed he worked at _Miss Annie’s Flowers_. A flower shop. Huh.

“You good here, mate?” asked Eddie, his flatmate, poking his head in Dan’s bedroom.

Dan dropped the curtain and quickly turned around, eyes alert. “Oh. Yeah. I’m good.” He nodded, then stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. Then he took them out and crossed his arms.

Eddie nodded too, pursing his lips in a smile. He’s a student, like Dan, but they don’t go to the same university. Apparently he’s studying computer science, but currently has a job at his uncle’s publishing company, or something. He’s got mousy brown hair and a long nose which supports a pair of square glasses. His body was built like a runner, and he even offered Dan to jog together sometime (Dan declined almost immediately).

Eddie’s advertisement said he only needed a flatmate for the summer, which was perfect for Dan.

“Nice. Awesome.” He gave Dan a thumbs up. He wore a suit and tie, and his collar bent awkwardly. “I’m going to head out. You can eat whatever’s in the fridge. Until, you know, you buy your own shit.”

“Oh. Thanks—”

“You’re good?”

“Yeah, I’m good—”

“Awesome. Cool. See ya.”

Great chat.

Eddie said he wouldn’t be in much. Work and girlfriend and parties kept him occupied enough. The walls rattled when Eddie slammed the front door behind him.

It could be worse. Dan kept telling himself that. At least he had a decent sized space all for himself and a flatmate who wasn’t a serial killer (as far as Dan knew). But the wifi’s shit and the traffic’s annoying. Floorboards creaked with every step and there’s an unusual crack on the living room ceiling that Dan wasn’t going to question. The bathroom sink smelled like dried urine.  Also, he’s pretty sure he’s hearing the neighbor on the opposite side of the wall having sex. Loud sex.

Curiously, Dan turned to the window and let his index finger draw back the curtain again. The flower shop guy had gone back indoors. The plastic sign on the glass door read _Open!_ in a curly pink font.

Dan twisted his mouth.

_Hm_.

He didn’t exactly _enjoy_ going outdoors. He didn’t even have a reason to. His limited supply of suitcases and boxes cluttered his empty room. He should unpack. At least set up his duvet—his bed frame and mattress just looked _pathetic_ in the corner.

A mother and a toddler slowed to a stop outside the flower shop. The mother took interest in the daisy display outside the shop’s window. The toddler tugged on her hand, almost spilling her ice cream cone onto her tiny dungarees.

Ice cream. _Food_. Dan needed food. Even Eddie said he should buy his own. His stomach rumbled at the possibilities.

Well. Dan now had a reason to go outside.

 

* * *

 

_Miss Annie’s Flowers_ shop was painted the same bright green color as the aprons and had an overhang with the name in curly pink font. Large display crates on either side of the front door puffed with freshly-watered daffodils, daisies, and peonies. It was cute, something Dan’s grandma would probably want to visit.

His sneakers stepped onto the welcome mat (its blocky letters read _Buds Always Welcome!_ along with a row of cartoon tulips) and pushed the shop door open. A tiny bell jingled above his head. It spooked him for a full second, as if he hoped his entrance would be subtle.

The pure aroma of flowers shocked him enough that he hesitated at the door. It was like sticking his head into his mother’s perfume bottle. Dan wasn’t exactly an _expert_ in floristry and he wasn’t sure what else he’d be expecting upon entering.

The walls weren’t green like the outside, but instead a soft yellow. If a space didn’t have pots of flowers to sell, then it had knickknacks or artwork that also featured colorful flowers or cartoon frogs on lily pads. Old ladies holding paisley purses wandered down the aisles. The mum and that toddler from earlier browsed a selection of packaged seeds.

Dan suddenly became very aware how out-of-place he was.

Maybe he, a six-foot-tall guy in his early twenties, wearing black skinny jeans and a zipped-up black jacket, could casually backtrack and slip out without anyone thinking it was weird. Maybe he should actually grab some lunch, like he promised himself.

“May I help you?”

Visibly startled, Dan refrained from clutching his heart and spun around to meet a Chinese woman who was at least two feet shorter than him. Deep wrinkles creased her eyes and lips. Her silver hair tied back in a tight ponytail. She also wore a green apron, which included a plastic nametag which read _Hello! My name is_ in black font and in red font underneath it said in all-caps _ANNIE_. Oh great, the literal shop owner.

“Uh, actually I, uh,” Dan stuttered, nodding more frequently than the average human. “I’m actually, I need—”

“You looking for a gift?” Annie asked, unwavered by Dan’s obvious fluster. “For your mother? Girlfriend?”

“No! _Nope_.” No girlfriend. “My—my grandma, actually.”

His grandma. His grandma who lived an hour away and had no need for flowers at the moment.

But, the lie was enough to please Annie. “We can do grandma’s. What does she like? Roses? Lilies? Petunias? Lilacs? Marigolds?”

“Um.”

“Here, I’ll get Phil to help you. Phil!”

A black-haired head poked out from behind a hanging basket of hydrangeas. “Yes, Miss Ling?”

“I need to go back to the desk. Help—what is your name?”

Dan didn’t know whether to look at her or Phil, who just so happened to be the _same_ cute guy who Dan sort-of-stalked on earlier from his window. “Dan.”

“Help Dan find flowers for grandma.” She waved her bony fingers at him before walking away to the desk, where the mother and toddler were ready to checkout.

Phil faced Dan and smiled with his mouth closed. He carried a short stack of empty wicker baskets. And he looked even cuter up close.

Like Annie, Phil’s green apron had a nametag with _PHIL_ on it. Except his was pinned in the center of his apron, and it tilted a tad crookedly on the cloth. Under his apron he had a t-shirt with a Captain America shield on it, but his jeans were dark like Dan’s. His Converse shoes were red and scuffed with dirt, and peeking out from the hem of his jeans it appeared were two different colored socks.

But his smile was lovely, it made the corners of his eyes crinkle. Pale blue irises with hints of green. There were freckles scattering his arms and even faint ones on his cheeks. Phil’s hair was jet black and pushed to the side—something Dan _wished_ his hair could do. They stared eye-to-eye, given Phil’s height was practically identical to Dan’s.

And Dan couldn’t really stop staring. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, then crossed his arms a second later. He needed to stay cool and collected for _once_ in his life.

“What does your grandma like?” Phil asked him, cheerfully and polite. His head tilted slightly to the left. Dan’s heart melted to his feet.

“She—she uh.” Dan nodded for no reason. “I’m not sure, actually.” He then shrugged, again without purpose.

Cool and collected. Cool and collected.

Phil’s smile widened, exposing teeth. “That’s fine. We’ll just browse.” He motioned for Dan to follow, and Dan did.

“What’s the occasion? Is it her birthday?” Phil continued with the small talk, leading Dan down between a display of red hibiscuses on the left and pink peonies to the right. He still cradled the baskets to his chest, but he looked over his shoulder for Dan’s answer.

“Well.” Dan hadn’t thought through his lie that much. “Just—just because. I recently moved here and I’m going to miss seeing her every day.” He ended his sentence with a slight cringe at himself. _Yeah, great. Good job, Dan. You totally sound like a normal guy._

It seemed Phil did not think it was weird Dan missed his grandma. His eyes softened at the story. “Aw. Well, I’m sure she’ll love the flowers. All grandmas do.” They turned the corner, where there was a wall of multicolor rose bouquets. “Welcome to the neighborhood, though!”

Dan smiled. “Thanks.”

“I actually live above the shop,” Phil said, pointing his long index finger at the ceiling. “Miss Ling rents the space. It’s actually really convenient—I don’t have to go outside to go to work.”

_Interesting_. Dan kept his eyebrow raise to a minimum, while also stashing away this new information. Phil lived across the street from him. Phil also doesn’t like going outside.

They already had something in common.

But Phil was still working and, as a good employee, he stopped at a table bearing various vases with large clusters of flowers. “Hey! Maybe she’ll like a bouquet of these?” Phil set his stack of wicker baskets aside to carefully lift a group of flowers by their long stems out of the vase.

Dan frowned straightaway. “ _Sunflowers?_ ” He said it as if it were the devil’s name.

Phil _giggled_ , and it made his shoulders scrunch nearer to his neck and a tongue poke out the side of his mouth. Of course his laugh was as lovely as his everything else. “Yes, sunflowers! My nan always loved these. They’re bright and cheery—”

“They’re frickin’ _huge_.”

“And beautiful,” Phil told him, holding the bouquet in front of his chin so his gaze peered over the golden petals. His eyes were round like a deer, and he fluttered his eyelashes twice at Dan.

Beautiful. Yeah.

Nevertheless, it didn’t erase the fact Dan _hated_ sunflowers. _Loathed_ is the correct term. They were stupidly big, almost to the point of intimidation. Not to mention their smell. The mess of their pollen. And the yellow of their petals weren’t even that pretty. For god’s sake—why did this shop even _sell_ sunflowers when they had an array of literally every other socially acceptable flower available?

But.

Phil was smiling at him, and not in the polite customer service way, either. In a gentle, happy, expecting manner. One corner of his mouth curved higher than the other. He swayed a little on the balls of his feet. The golden petals tickled his chin still.

Dan had to realize that those sunflowers weren’t going to be shipped to his grandmother—most likely they’d live in his flat for the time being. The more he stared at them the more disgust bubbled in his gut.

Still, his heart swelled like a balloon when he met Phil’s eyes, and _that_ outdid everything else.

“Sure, I’ll buy her those.”

 

* * *

 

Eddie’s packaged pasta was his meal in the end. Dan munched on the cardboard-tasting noodles with a glower fixated on the bouquet of sunflowers sitting on their breakfast bar. Its silky turquoise bow crushed under the weight of the trimmed stems. He could spot the card attached to the ribbon, the one Phil wrote out for him that said “ _Miss you Nan!! xo Dan._ ”

It felt sort of slimy, making up a story about sending flowers to his grandma when he really meant to meet Phil. But what harm was done, really? Just a bunch of horrible yellow flowers now residing in his flat?

He could still smell them. His nose wrinkled in repulsion.

So in exchange for making small talk with the cute shop boy, he now had to live with those hideous flowers or throw away a good chunk of cash.

Dan pushed around his pasta on the plastic plate, thinking. He wanted to talk to Phil _again_. He wanted to do so without seeming creepy or weird. _Not_ a stalker. But cool. Confident. Could he do so without buying more sunflowers, please?

 

* * *

 

_Miss Annie’s Flowers_ had its _Open!_ sign still up when Dan came back from work the next day. He slowed to a stop in front of it, evening out his breathing and readjusting his tie.

Maybe Phil will think his suit is dapper and impressive. A high end job and not some boring law firm internship. Dan caught his reflection in the window quick to flatten out his hair. Hopefully the rush to get here before closing didn’t make him look _too_ unruly.

The bell tinkled again when he opened the door. It was hardly busy—just a man with a cane stroking his mustache over some succulents. Annie was also there, her back to Dan and angling a spray bottle over a pot of buttercups to give them a drink. Behind the front desk was Phil, who perked up when he saw Dan enter.

“Oh!” he genuinely sounded surprised. At Dan’s return or his outfit, who knew for sure. Regardless, Dan puffed his chest out and kept his chin high when he approached the desk. Cool and confident. “Dan...right?”

“Yep, I’m Dan.” He pointed at Phil’s nametag. “And you’re Phil.”

Phil looked down at his chest before smirking. “Okay, cheater.”

“I remembered anyway,” Dan told him. Phil beamed at that.

“You look fancy.” Phil gestured at his suit. _Yes, win on the outfit_. “Did you come back from dinner with the Queen?”

Dan shook his head, absentmindedly fiddling with the sleeves of his jacket. His rented tux didn’t fit him in the right places. “Ah—no. I came here from work.”

“I see.” Phil nodded slowly, eyes on Dan’s clothes and his mouth hesitating like he wanted to say more. But in the end, he looked back up at Dan’s face and smiled. “Did you come to buy anything, or—”

“Yes!” Of course, Dan had a plan. A plan that would grant him more conversation time with Phil, whenever he needed, without it being weird. “I need flowers for my mum.”

 

* * *

 

He did not need flowers for his mum.

The bouquet of bright orange marigolds now bloomed in a drinking glass next to Eddie’s TV. They were far prettier than the inconvenient sunflowers, Dan thought to himself as he lounged on Eddie’s sofa, scrolling through Twitter in a pair of sweatpants.

(And even though Phil requested he buy his mum sunflowers too, Dan refused and said she preferred marigolds. Which was a lie. _Dan_ preferred marigolds over sunflowers).

A bouquet of flowers to talk to Phil for fifteen or so minutes while he worked. A fair deal. He giggled again in that adoring way when Dan made a joke. Dan had felt his heart do a cartwheel.

Eddie came home later that evening, around the time Dan was so fully slumped on the sofa that his sweatshirt bunched against his chin.

“Nice flowers,” Eddie commented, his voice a little suspicious but not disapproving. He lifted an eyebrow at them, and gave a short glance at Dan.

Dan shrugged casually. “Thanks.”

“You buy them at the shop across the street?”

“Yep.”

Eddie lifted both eyebrows. “Huh.” And went to the bathroom without another word.

 

* * *

 

“Long time no see,” Phil chuckled after seeing Dan walk in that next day.

“Hi.” Dan waved to him, as if they weren’t six feet apart and the only two in the shop. He winced at his own actions and shoved his hand back into his pocket. _Fucking idiot._

“You’re in your suit again,” Phil pointed his broom at Dan’s outfit. “Different tie, though. I like this red one better.”

Dan instinctively touched his tie, looking at the plain crimson pattern. “Really?”

“Yeah. Red is more… _‘Pow! Business!’_ ” He splayed out his fingers in a mock explosion, his face completely serious. “It’s a good look.”

Heat prickled at Dan’s cheeks. Phil liked him in red, noted.

Phil hummed and went back to beaming. His t-shirt today had Totoro’s eyes peeking out under his apron. God damn, could he be any more perfect?

“Did you come for more flowers?” Phil asked.

Right. Another bouquet. Dan snapped his fingers at him, having prepared his plan at work while he was bored (which was always). “I need some for my brother. He’s starting summer classes soon, I thought I’d send him a good luck gift.”

It was a crap story, but Dan was running out of family members to ‘send’ flowers to. But Phil didn’t know his little brother. Maybe he’d assume he was a flower fanatic (like how Eddie probably sees Dan).

Phil frowned a bit and glanced to the side, putting the facts together. “Alright…” He nodded and then pouted. His eyebrows jumped as if to say, _Not gonna judge_. “What does he like?”

They settled with periwinkles and an emerald green ribbon to put around it. “You know,” Phil said to him at the front desk, tapping the buttons on the cashier. “I’ve never thought to send my brother flowers. I bet he’d like some. He thinks it’s cool that I work in a flower shop.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yeah, just one.”

“Me too.”

Phil grinned over at him, one corner lifting higher than the other. “Look at us, having so much in common.”

Dan’s pulse may have skipped a couple of beats.

 

* * *

 

“Back again?” Phil said the next day, a grin teasing his lips.

“What can I say?” Dan asked, shrugging while innocently holding open his palms. “My boss just had a baby, I gotta congratulate her.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Phil told him, grin growing.

Dan probably shouldn’t mention that he’s known his boss for three days, and that boss’ baby is four months old. Dan knew this, because her desk is covered in mountains of framed Baby Garrett photos.

“I don’t think babies like me,” Phil was telling Dan as he arranged his new bouquet of pink tulips. “I think they’re afraid of my alien-shaped head.” He fluffed up the tulips’ leaves and laughed at himself.

_You have a lovely head shape,_ Dan wanted to say. Although that compliment wasn’t exactly appropriate. The more he thought about it the more his expression scrunched in confusion. _Lovely head shape?_ Who says that?

“My mum’s gonna be disappointed,” Phil kept saying, not looking at Dan but angling his body to the left to examine the flower arrangement in its vase. “She’ll have grandpuppies before grandchildren.”

“You like dogs?” Dan asked.

Phil immediately stood up straight. His face absolutely glowed. “I _love_ dogs.”

 

* * *

 

“Trinity’s coming over tomorrow,” Eddie told Dan that evening, after frowning at the bright pink tulips sitting next to their stove.

Dan unplucked an earbud. He hadn’t heard his flatmate enter, and was again relaxing on their crappy sofa because their neighbors had loud sex (again) on the other side of Dan’s room. An anime episode was paused on his laptop screen, so Dan carefully angled it away from Eddie’s vision. “Who’s...Trinity?”

“My girlfriend.”

_I thought his girlfriend’s name was Lucy?_

“Alright.”

“Yeah. It’s our anniversary. You’re not allergic to dogs right? She has to dogsit while her parents are on holiday.”

Dan blinked thrice. “A dog?”

“Yeah. She’s gonna bring hers over if that’s cool with you.”

Dan smiled, a plan already ticking together.

 

* * *

 

“Oh my gosh!” Phil’s jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes lit up. “She’s so tiny!”

Dan, ever the gentleman, offered to take cute little Pogo for a walk as Eddie and Trinity celebrated alone. The Pomeranian twitched her black nose in Phil’s direction, her fluffy tail wagging excitedly. White fur was already shedding all over Dan’s chest.

But Dan smiled and lifted her up a little more. “Isn’t she cute?”

“Yes you are!” Phil cooed, scratching with both hands around Pogo’s chin and ears. She lolled her tongue out and the tag on her purple collar jingled. They were outside the shop, next to the wagon of daffodils. The sunset washed the entire street in an orange hue.

“This literally made my entire week,” Phil said to Dan, still beaming like it was Christmas.

(Dan’s heart couldn’t help but jump).

“Is she yours?” Phil asked.

Dan shook his head. “Nah. She’s my flatmate’s girlfriend’s—I’m just taking her out for a walk.” He scratched the top of her head and cooed, “Isn’t that right, Pogo? A walk while Mummy is busy?”

For a split-second, Phil’s smile faulted. “Your _flatmate’s_ girlfriend.” He cleared his throat subtly. But then Pogo licked his thumb, and his grin returned.

And, Dan still bought flowers. Just a small bunch of yellow and red poppies. “My bedroom is kind of boring. It could use some color.”

Fingers tweaking the thin bow, Phil’s eyes rested on Dan for a moment longer. It was a softer gaze. “That’s a lovely idea,” Phil said to him, smiling small.

 

* * *

 

The bell tinkled above his head when he walked into the shop. A middle-aged woman was arguing with Annie over some decorative wind spinners. Phil—

Phil wasn’t at the front desk. It was a girl maybe eighteen or nineteen, wearing a hot pink blouse underneath her green apron. Gum smacked loudly as she chewed it. Dyed blonde highlights streaked her chocolate brown hair.

She noticed Dan slowly walking into the shop, clearly confused. Her eyebrows pinched. “Can I help you?”

His feet carried him over to her, because what else was he going to do? “Um...hi...”

“You here for some flowers?”

“No, uh—” He finally looked over at her. Her nametag said her name was Margaret. “I was just...uh, looking for Phil?”

She smirked. She had twin piercings above her lips. “Oh. You’re _that_ guy.”

“What?”

Her eyes lazily dragged to the side. “We’ve all talked about it. You’re Phil’s _admirer_. That heartbreaker who buys his secret girlfriend flowers every day.”

That statement was like a slap to his face. “Excuse me— _what?_ ”

“Well, why else would you keep buying bouquets?” Margaret demanded. “No normal person does that, unless they got a girlfriend.”

“I-I don’t have a girlfriend!” Dan practically squeaked. Oh, god, this was a fucking mess. Did Phil honestly think that he was lying about his bouquet purchases because he was getting them for a romantic partner?

Margaret smacked her gum. “Okay, honey.”

“Where’s Phil?” Anxiety spiked his pulse. Did Phil quit? So angry at Dan that he packed up and left?

Margaret lifted one shoulder. “He called in sick.”

Oh.

Dan ate more pasta for dinner that night. His suit and tie lay in heaps on his bed, which also wasn’t made. His room was a mess and his gut felt empty and this pasta tasted like cardboard.

He was surrounded by the prominent aroma of a garden. Decorating their flat still were the marigolds and the tulips and the fucking sunflowers.

Apparently Trinity adored the flowers. She gushed to Dan after he returned Pogo that he really “livened up the place.” Eddie only shot him another suspicious look. As if he too thought Dan was hiding a secret.

Dan angrily stabbed his cheap pasta with his fork. He _was_ technically keeping a secret. But not the one everyone thought he was.

Despite the shitty wifi, Dan browsed on his laptop again. His neighbors were arguing loudly instead of having sex. He drowned out the curse words and accusations of cheating as he popped in his earbuds and listened to Nicki Minaj. He then brought up Facebook.

It didn’t take long to find Phil. Not many people had Liked the _Miss Annie’s Flowers_ page to begin with, and Phil just happened to be one of its Followers. His profile picture was of him standing on a beach, his arm around a guy who wore sunglasses but still shared a striking resemblance. His one brother.

His relationship status said Single.  

Dan paused his cursor there for a second, feeling that sinking, empty feeling in his gut again. He was so stupid. Phil probably hated him. Or thought he was some sort of heartbreaker, like Margaret said.

His cursor hovered over the Friend button.

Dan just wanted to talk to him again. He missed him, for fuck’s sake.

He clicked the button. Then he immediately shut his laptop and rushed out of his bedroom, his earbuds flying out and smacking against his desk.

After pacing around the flat for a solid forty seconds and finding nothing worth a distraction, Dan returned and pried his laptop open. Facebook was still up. A little red notification had appeared in the top right corner.

_Phil Lester has accepted your Friend request._

 

* * *

 

Phil Lester is online.

_Dan: hi! I hope you’re feeling ok. I heard you were sick today :/_

_Phil: Hey Dan!! Yeah. Bad headache. I get those sometimes :/_

_Dan: I’m glad I found you on facebook though. I didn’t have the chance to show you my new red tie. Trust me, it’s way different than my other one. pow-business, like you say._

_Phil: lol. I bet it is._

_Dan: yeah lol._

_…._

_Dan: are you feeling any better?_

_Phil: Yeah. A little bit._

_Dan: that’s good! it’s weird not seeing you after my shit day at work._

_Phil: Yeah haha_

_….._

_Dan: am I bothering you?_

_Phil: no, why?_

_Dan: it just seems that you don’t want to talk to me. it’s fine if you don’t._

_…._

_Dan: phil?_

_Phil: Sorry. It’s just weird. Idk._

_Dan: weird?_

_Phil: I just_

_Phil: You don’t need to play dumb with me anymore, okay?_

_Dan: I don’t play dumb with you_

_Phil: I’m not an idiot, Dan. I know you don’t buy flowers for your mum or grandma or whatever. Like I know you would any other time, but not for an entire week right as you get off work._

_Dan: but I don’t buy them for a girlfriend either!!!!!!!!!_

_Phil: What?_

_Dan: I...may have met your coworker Margaret._

_Phil: Well._

_Phil: Uh._

_Dan: she told me your theories. I do not have a girlfriend._

_Phil: Okay. I’m sorry._

_Dan: it’s fine._

_Phil: It’s still a little strange, to buy so many flowers at once for people who live so far away._

_Dan: haha yeah…_

_Phil: But I won’t judge you. It’s still a sweet gesture :)_

_Dan: i try ;)_

_Phil: I’ll be in work tomorrow, if you wanna stop by?_

_Dan: of course I will :)_

 

* * *

 

“Mate,” Eddie said the next evening, standing next to the rumbling dishwasher. It was his turn to load the dishes. He faced Dan, who had discovered his neighbors were having make-up sex from their fight, and had taken his laptop and headphones to the sofa.

Dan blinked wide eyes at him, wary. “What?”

Eddie appeared quite uncomfortable. The two never really had conversations that lasted more than three sentences each. He seemed like he was preparing himself to say more. “The flowers, mate.”

Dan had purchased another bouquet between the time he got off work and arrived back at the flat. Phil picked these out himself this time. Moonflowers. Dan didn’t believe that was its real name but Phil was so excited. Also, Dan never specified who he was buying these flowers for. It’s like he didn’t need to anymore.

The moonflowers became a centerpiece to their breakfast bar. Eddie glanced between them and Dan, mouth tight. “We need to talk about the flowers.”

Dan realized he had entered troubled waters. “Do you…not…like them?” Keep it cool.

“No they’re fine.” Eddie shrugged. “Like, whatever, we can keep them. But I’m...concerned about your...motives behind it.”

Ice entered Dan’s veins. Did Eddie—the guy who hardly spoke to Dan even though they lived together—solve his big secret? Oh god, was he even ready to admit it himself?

“It’s okay that you fancy older women.”

Dan’s thoughts screeched to a halt. “Wait, what?”

Eddie sighed, the flush from his neck rushing to his cheeks. He strained to remain smooth and steady. “I get it, okay? Loads of my friends are like that too. They go after the mums. And Miss Ling is a nice—nice lady.”

Dan was gaping. Did—did Eddie believe it was the stubborn sixty-year-old shop owner Dan fancied?

“I’m just asking for boundaries,” Eddie said. “Your...declarations of love can stay,” he motioned to the various bouquets. “But I don’t want you to bring your funny business back here. No offense but—”

“Eddie—”

“Like, I’m not judging, mate, I’m not. It’s just there’s a line for me and it’s—”

“Eddie, I don’t fancy Miss Ling.”

“Oh.” Eddie blinked and then his expression morphed to bewilderment. It was as if cogs were turning to understand this new information. “Then why all the bloody flowers?”

Heat erupted to his cheeks. _Now_ came the real embarrassment. Dan wished he could slump into this sofa and disappear. “I—I really like the shop guy.”

Silence blanketed the room. Eddie stared at him for a solid five seconds, totally dumbfounded, before breaking and laughing out a _pfft_. “Really? Oh then that’s easy.” He shook his head at Dan, smirking. “You’re supposed to give the flowers _to him_. Not keep them for yourself, idiot.” 

 

* * *

 

The bell tinkled above Dan’s head when he pushed open the door.

Nerves formed a tight knot in Dan’s stomach, like a nest of snakes. Eddie may have been a confidence booster in his actual plan to spell out his feelings to Phil, but there was still the literal act of speaking those words out loud.

He had formed a plan, of course.

Phil was behind the front desk, handing a receipt to a paying customer and smiling politely at them. He looked radiant, as usual. Even in his regular green apron and t-shirt with the _Jurassic Park_ logo. He was wearing glasses today too. Fuck.

“Hey!” Phil greeted Dan happily, his eyes lighting up. “How are you?”

Dan replaced the position where the customer previously stood, leaning his elbows on the counter top a little too casually. The less suspicious the better. “Oh. I’m fine.” He laughed nervously then scratched his nose. “Uh. I really like your shirt.”

Phil glanced down. “You like Jurassic Park? They’re like, my favorite movies of all time.”

“I’ve only seen the first one.”

“Dan! How can you live with yourself?” Phil giggled

_Stick to the plan, Dan. Stick to the plan._

“Maybe...you could show them to me sometime?” Dan offered, voice edging close to high-pitched near the end. “I-If you wanted to. It’s cool if you don’t. But uh, I would. I would like to hang out with you. Outside of shop hours...you know.”

Blush was _burning_ up his neck.

Phil blinked once at him, then smiled again. “Yeah, that’d be great!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Are you free Saturday? I have the day off.”

“S-Saturday! Yes! Yeah, of course. We can go to my place. It’s crap but my roommate has this _huge_ flatscreen.”

“Perfect.” Phil beamed, his eyes squinting under his glasses.

_Stick to the plan, Dan. Don’t get lost in all his beauty._

“Hey.” He coughed once. “Speaking of, uh, m-my roommate. Eddie. He’s thinking about buying flowers for his girlfriend and he was wondering…if you had...any recommendations.”

“Oh!” Phil nodded. “Well, you’ve bought almost every flower in the shop, you’d be a better reference than me.”

Too real.

“ _Well_ ,” Dan continued, shrugging slowly. “If you were expecting flowers...from a romantic interest...what would you prefer?”

Fucking _nailed it_ with the causality, hell yeah.

“Hmm.” Phil tapped his chin, thinking about this seriously. His eyes were off in the distance, and his lips were pursed just slightly. “I’m not sure...I mean,” He looked back at Dan, that same bright softness that always seemed to knock Dan’s breath away coming to his face. “I would like some of my favorite flowers.”

“Yeah?” Dan may be slightly out of breath. Staring at Phil too long was like staring into the expanse of the ocean—overwhelming and beautiful and all too much to explore. His irises were a mirror of that. “And what are your favorite flowers?”

Phil smiled. “Sunflowers.”

Immediately, Dan jerked out of his trance. “ _What?_ ”

“Sunflowers! I adore them!” Phil told him. “I mean, how can you not?”

 

* * *

 

@danisnotonfire tweeted July 20 at 1:43 AM: _FUCK sunflowers_

 

* * *

 

He had to fucking buy sunflowers again.

Dan added Margaret as a Friend on Facebook in order to ask what hours Phil did not work. This was so he could run over to the shop quick and fill out a special order for Phil’s romantic bouquet.

Margaret smirked as Dan angrily scribbled out his information on the flower order sheet. “My, oh my. Looks like someone had a tiff with his secret girlfriend.”

Dan glared at her, hardly paying attention to what he wrote down for his final price. Honestly, it didn’t matter how much he was paying. This was important. “I’m ordering these for _Phil_.”

“Oh!” Margaret’s eyes went round. “Finally dumped your previous lover?”

“I never _had_ a girlfriend, Margaret. I was buying random bouquets every day just to talk to Phil.”

“Really?” She frowned. “What a weird thing to do.”

“Thanks.” He slid the order sheet over to her.

She took it but still frowned at him. “You know, you could have just, talked to him, without wasting your money, right?”

“Can you just—make sure those flowers make it to my address? And don’t tell Phil—It’s a surprise.”

“Sure thing, lover boy.” Her frown went into a curled smile. “But hey, what you did before—no matter how dumb—was still pretty cute. Phil’s a lucky guy.”

 

* * *

 

Saturday began with a less stressful task: heading to the post office to receive a letter from his grandma.

It was the ideal distraction to keep Dan from pacing around his flat like a restless mad man. He opened the card on the walk back. It was had a cartoon puppy on the front, along with a handwritten note in blue ink on the inside that said, _‘Good luck with your internship Daniel! We love you very much. -Nan’_

It made him feel sort of guilty he never sent her that bouquet in the first place. Whoops.

Dan climbed the stairs to make way to his flat, tucking the card back into its envelope. Phil would be over soon—did Dan have time to shower quick? Change into a snazzy red shirt that Phil would approve on him? They agreed to grab lunch and watch movies all day. Well, watch movies, play video games, do whatever basically. It sounded like a dream come true.

And maybe, hopefully, some romantic occurrences would take place. That would be _if_ Dan read the signs right and _if_ Dan spoke his feelings correctly and _if_ Phil liked his surprise bouquet and _if_ everything goes according to plan.

He hardly pushed the door open enough before he heard the shouting of his roommate. “ _Mate! What the fuck is all this?!_ ”

The alarm was enough to slow Dan’s brain with confusion. He stepped into the flat, eyes widening at his surroundings.

Their flat was small to begin with. The kitchen and living room shared the same rectangular space. However, everything seemed even more crammed in this exact moment. This could be because every possible surface, from the counter tops to the breakfast bar stools to the sofa cushions, were holding more than a _dozen_ vases filled with bright, yellow, blooming sunflowers.

And in the middle of this sunflower hell sea, was a rather pissed Eddie.

“ _What the fuck?!_ ”

“Eddie, what _happened?_ ”

“Why the _hell_ are you asking me? All these flowers are for _you!_ ”

“What are you on about?!” Now Dan was growing furious. In no conceivable universe would he order dozens of sunflower bouquets. How many were there even? He did a quick scan—around twenty. Maybe twenty-three. Twenty-three fucking sunflower bouquets, each tied in a scarlet heart-shaped ribbon and blotching his flat like a mockery from the universe. Was this a prank?

“That flower shop across the street delivered them.” Eddie strode over to him, shoving a paper to his chest. “Twenty-three sunflower bouquets, under _your bloody name_.”

“That is _not_ true—” Dan hastily brought the paper to his face, reading the order sheet he filled out a few days ago. There was his signature at the bottom. “I ordered one bouquet, so there had to be a mix up—” Then his mouth dropped.

“Oh.”

“ _Yeah!_ ”

“Fuck. Me.”

Dan Howell, the most unfortunate human on planet Earth, did not write _23_ on the line asking for total amount due. Instead, in his rush, he accidentally wrote that number on the line asking how many _total bouquets of flowers_ you wished for.

He shut his mouth and quietly folded the paper back up.

“So,” he began, turning to a red-faced and angry Eddie, “there has obviously been a mistake. Here’s the plan—”

“No. _This_ is the plan. You’re going to take all these back to the shop _right now_. No way am I going to live with all these flowers clogging up our space this entire weekend. They’ll _die_ and then what?!”

“I can’t go to the shop now!” Dan told him, gesturing his hands in the air. “Phil’s coming over for our date any minute now, _remember?_ ”

“Well I can’t take them! I’ve got a lunch date too!”

“Oh my god, yes! Take some to your girlfriend! I bet Lucy would love a bouquet!”

“Lucy?”

“Your girlfriend!”

“Her name is Trinity!”

_Why did Dan always think it was Lucy?!_

A knock came from their front door.

The two whipped their heads at it, frozen into silence.

A few seconds passed, and then another knock came, concluding with Phil’s voice, “Dan? I’m here!”

Dan and Eddie reacted at the same time—Eddie wanting to flee and Dan clutching his arm for dear life. “ _You can’t leave me!_ ” Dan hissed.

“ _I’m not gonna watch as you explain yourself!_ ” Eddie hissed back.

“ _I’m going to look like an idiot!_ ”

“ _Well you are!_ ”

“Dan, can I come in?”

“ _What do I even say?_ ” Dan pleaded.

Eddie shook him off, throwing his hands in the air. “ _Be honest! Say they’re for him!_ ” He walked to the door and yanked it open.

Phil was startled at the abruptness, but smiled at Eddie. “Oh, hello.”

Eddie grinned politely. “You must be Phil Lester! Dan’s told me so much about you. Lovely to meet your acquaintance.” He shook Phil’s hand like a trained businessman. Phil’s arm wiggled like a noodle to its ferocity. “Have fun you crazy kids!” He glanced over his shoulder to Dan, but behind his square glasses his eyes widened in a stern warning.

Once Eddie had slipped past Phil and hurried off to his lunch date, Phil stood at the doorway still in his dazed surprise. Dan hurried up to him, leaning his arm on the doorframe like it was a normal thing for him to do, but actually hoping his ridiculously tall body blocked most of the interior scene.

“Hi,” Dan said, flustered to the point he probably looked manic.

“Hey there, stranger.” Phil smiled at him, chuckling a bit. He cradled a stack of DVDs against his chest. It was almost odd to see him without the green apron. His chosen shirt today was blue with a pattern of little white stars. But he had on shorts and his regular converse. His glasses were on too, just adding to the adorableness.  “That was the roommate?”

“Eddie? Yeah. Yep. That’s him.” _That traitorous bastard._

“He seems nice.”

“Yeah. Yep.”

“Not to sound rude, but I’m sort of glad he left? Then we can hang out without eavesdroppers.”

If Dan had been processing his current surroundings whatsoever, he would have notice the gleam in Phil’s eye, or how his mouth curled just slightly to be suggestive. But no, his mind was only occupied with the _multiple sunflowers hoarded in his flat._

“Hah, yeah,” was his intelligent response two awkward seconds later.

Phil frowned a bit. “Dan? You alright?”

Dan opened his mouth, then paused. He could lie, of course. Laugh it off. And then what? He lied to Phil before on what he thought was over something innocent, just the intentions of a flowers purchase. And look where that almost got him—Phil heartbroken and confused.

So, he hung his head and sighed. “Just—please don’t laugh. I can explain.” He stepped away from the entrance, and let Phil gaze inside.

His right foot stepped forward first. And then his left. Behind his glasses, Phil’s eyebrows lowered as his mouth parted slightly. He kept the DVD’s close to his chest as his head turned back and forth at the scene in front of him.

“They’re…” Dan told him, “for you.”

It did look rather insane. A tiny, shitty flat with peeling white walls and a kitchen light that needed replacing, overflowing with perfectly trimmed vases of sunflowers on every single surface in sight. Maybe...maybe Phil won’t think it was odd?

Phil shook his head fast and asked, “ _Me—?_ ”

“Listen, I can _explain_.” Dan rushed forward. “There was a mix up in the—I only meant to order one bouquet and not twenty-three. It looks bad but I swear to god I don’t have a weird flower obsession or fetish or—”

Phil went to the sunflower vases that were occupying the breakfast bar. His forefinger and thumb rubbed against one of the pointed golden petals. Tilting his head, he lowered his hand to the red heart-shaped ribbon. He touched it for a moment, and relaxed the hold on his movies. Dan braced himself for the harsh judgment.

He turned to Dan, eyes gone soft. “No one’s ever bought me flowers before.”

Dan clamped his mouth shut to prevent himself from saying anything stupid. His stomach seemed to twirl in glee. “Oh.” He then took a step toward Phil, cautiously edging into his space, feeling he was allowed to now. “Really?”

He smiled, showing teeth as his shoulders squeezed upward to his neck. “Yeah. I think everyone’s like, oh he works at a flower shop, he’s sick of flowers, he wants to puke on them. But I think it’s romantic, to give someone flowers.” Pink appeared on his cheeks. His fingers still lingered on the heart-shaped bow.

That crushing anxiety was now replaced with newfound confidence, and Dan straightened his spine. “Well,” Dan said, “maybe that was the intention?”

More pink tinted Phil’s face. His eyes floated to the side in shyness but then landed on all the other flowers clustered in the living room. “It’s a _bit_ much,” he admitted, and shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind having a sunflower forest in my flat. Unless if you want to keep some—”

“ _No_ ,” Dan immediately said. “No, no, I...I have enough flowers as it is.”

Phil laughed. “You know, I _thought_ I recognized those marigolds.” He nodded over at the TV stand, where the comically small glass of marigolds were squeezed between two looming vases of sunflowers.

It was Dan’s turn to glow red. But that didn’t stop him from taking another step towards Phil. “So you’re not mad?” he asked.

Phil looked at him, still smiling, almost absentmindedly. “No, I’m not mad. I think you’re sweet.”

Oh, Dan couldn’t help himself.

He let his shoulders fall and his hands reach up and then he was closing his eyes and kissing Phil. The first peck lasted an entire second, just a soft press of lips with Dan cupping Phil’s face and the air halting in their lungs.

They broke it out of pure surprise. That too, lasted for only a second. Phil had a glint in his eye and a curl of a smile before he surged forward to kiss Dan again. Longer this time, letting the fluttering sweetness last. Dan forgot about the yellow flood of sunflowers surrounding him, and the _Jurassic Park_ DVD’s jammed between their chests.

So maybe ninety-eight percent of his flat _didn’t_ suck anymore. He could now add more to his list of non-suckiness:

  1. Cheap rent.
  2. Nice flower shop that agreed to take twenty-two bouquets of disgusting sunflowers off his hands.
  3. His cute boyfriend, who happened to like sunflowers, but not nearly as much as he liked Dan.



 


End file.
